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Henry, 51, joined her 25-year-old daughter, Hannah Harrell of DeLand, in helping Community Moments, a recently established charitable organization, serve its first free Thanksgiving meal Thursday afternoon at The Pentecostals in DeLand, 1640 E. Voorhis Ave.

DeLand resident Shaneka Byron, founder of Community Moments, and other volunteers served about 50 people at the church. That wasn't as many as Byron hoped for, but as a new organization, she would've been happy serving just one.

"Everything here was paid for," Byron, 26, announced to the group before she was overcome with emotion. "The stuff just kept piling up."

Community Moments' Thanksgiving was one of several charitable dinners in the Volusia-Flagler County area Thursday. The Salvation Army in Daytona Beach drew a packed house when they opened the doors for their feast at 11 a.m. Several churches throughout Volusia had free Thanksgiving meals as well as American Legion Post 267 in Ormond Beach, which catered specifically to veterans and current members of the military. Flagler County held its annual Feed Flagler feast Wednesday and served about 4,000 people at 11 locations across the county.

In DeLand, Byron, who started the organization in August, said her goal was to help not just the homeless but "everyday people who cannot get assistance."

"I'm looking to help the people right next to me — my neighbors," she said.

One DeLand resident helped by Byron and her group was 74-year-old Faye Durham, who joined the church two years ago.

"I came to the door and I said, 'If it tastes half as good as it smells, it's got to be fabulous,' " Durham said with a smile.

Durham worked for the Duvall Home taking care of people with developmental disabilities before she suffered a stroke in June 2009 and had to leave the job. She said though she left the hospital with no side-effects, her 37-year-old son lives with her as she can't live alone. She said she tried to get him to join her, but he'd made other plans.

"The last year has been very tough, and the last couple months even tougher," Durham said before breaking down a little. "It's nice to be here. Two weeks ago, I would've been thankful for anything."

The past year has also been tough for Shannon Hux, 36, who is three months sober in recovering from an addiction to painkillers.

With no family nearby and not wanting to spend the day alone, Hux came to where he'd be surrounded by his church family.

"I got a lot of friends in the church now," said the DeLand resident who started attending the church two years ago. "It makes it nice that I have somebody to spend Thanksgiving with."

Hux started his turkey day by running in the 28th annual Thanksgiving 10 Mile & 5K Road Races in DeLand. He said running is one of his main hobbies that helps him stay clean, but what seems to have helped him the most is attending The Pentecostals in DeLand.

"This has helped me out so much because, even when I did slip up, I was still coming to church," Hux said.

As Community Moments' first Thanksgiving came to a close, volunteers like Henry and those who came for the meal helped clean up and package the leftovers, which Byron estimated would feed about 80 homeless people they would be going to visit.

Even though she had yet to hand out the rest of this year's food, the wheels in Byron's head were already turning as she thought about how the next Thanksgiving would go.

"Next year," Byron said, "I hope to have twice as many people, and obviously we can feed them."

<p>Not wanting to spend another Thanksgiving "stuffing her face," Millicent Henry drove two hours from Sebastian to DeLand to change the way she spent her turkey day. </p><p>Henry, 51, joined her 25-year-old daughter, Hannah Harrell of DeLand, in helping Community Moments, a recently established charitable organization, serve its first free Thanksgiving meal Thursday afternoon at The Pentecostals in DeLand, 1640 E. Voorhis Ave. </p><p>DeLand resident Shaneka Byron, founder of Community Moments, and other volunteers served about 50 people at the church. That wasn't as many as Byron hoped for, but as a new organization, she would've been happy serving just one. </p><p>"Everything here was paid for," Byron, 26, announced to the group before she was overcome with emotion. "The stuff just kept piling up." </p><p>Community Moments' Thanksgiving was one of several charitable dinners in the Volusia-Flagler County area Thursday. The Salvation Army in Daytona Beach drew a packed house when they opened the doors for their feast at 11 a.m. Several churches throughout Volusia had free Thanksgiving meals as well as American Legion Post 267 in Ormond Beach, which catered specifically to veterans and current members of the military. Flagler County held its annual Feed Flagler feast Wednesday and served about 4,000 people at 11 locations across the county. </p><p>In DeLand, Byron, who started the organization in August, said her goal was to help not just the homeless but "everyday people who cannot get assistance." </p><p>"I'm looking to help the people right next to me &mdash; my neighbors," she said. </p><p>One DeLand resident helped by Byron and her group was 74-year-old Faye Durham, who joined the church two years ago. </p><p>"I came to the door and I said, 'If it tastes half as good as it smells, it's got to be fabulous,' " Durham said with a smile. </p><p>Durham worked for the Duvall Home taking care of people with developmental disabilities before she suffered a stroke in June 2009 and had to leave the job. She said though she left the hospital with no side-effects, her 37-year-old son lives with her as she can't live alone. She said she tried to get him to join her, but he'd made other plans. </p><p>"The last year has been very tough, and the last couple months even tougher," Durham said before breaking down a little. "It's nice to be here. Two weeks ago, I would've been thankful for anything." </p><p>The past year has also been tough for Shannon Hux, 36, who is three months sober in recovering from an addiction to painkillers. </p><p>With no family nearby and not wanting to spend the day alone, Hux came to where he'd be surrounded by his church family. </p><p>"I got a lot of friends in the church now," said the DeLand resident who started attending the church two years ago. "It makes it nice that I have somebody to spend Thanksgiving with." </p><p>Hux started his turkey day by running in the 28th annual Thanksgiving 10 Mile & 5K Road Races in DeLand. He said running is one of his main hobbies that helps him stay clean, but what seems to have helped him the most is attending The Pentecostals in DeLand. </p><p>"This has helped me out so much because, even when I did slip up, I was still coming to church," Hux said. </p><p>As Community Moments' first Thanksgiving came to a close, volunteers like Henry and those who came for the meal helped clean up and package the leftovers, which Byron estimated would feed about 80 homeless people they would be going to visit. </p><p>Even though she had yet to hand out the rest of this year's food, the wheels in Byron's head were already turning as she thought about how the next Thanksgiving would go. </p><p>"Next year," Byron said, "I hope to have twice as many people, and obviously we can feed them."</p>